In today’s economy it’s sometimes difficult for businesses and community associations to pay the bills. Revenue to support costs, shrinking margins and decreased collections on HOA fees and foreclosures really put a dent in cash flow.

The obvious place companies and communities  look for relief is in vendor contracts. They ask vendors to cut prices for the services they provide. Sometimes there are no other options.

Cutting costs at the vendor’s expense can jeopardize that critical partnership with your current vendor. Your need to cut costs can sometimes translate to increased costs and lost profits to your Vendor. This is the time for open communication AND realistic expectations about service.

Here are a few steps to keeping a fair and open dialog when looking to cut service costs:

1. Ask your current Vendor FIRST if they can work with the new price BEFORE you look to another provider. It is only fair that they get a chance to continue to work with you if they can.

2. Decreases in your budget often will translate to fewer services provided. It is rarely possible to give the same AMOUNT of services for less money. Quality, however, should never change.

3. Prioritize what is important or needed in your services and ask your Vendor his or her opinion. A trusted vendor may still be able to provide the service and also may have ideas on how to work with your reduced budget.

4. Be open to sacrificing your WANTS for your NEEDS. Sometimes, just because you want it does not make it a critical security service for the site.

5. Remember that your Vendor is a business that has to operate at a profit to survive. Your economic woes are a mirror to the ones every Vendor is experiencing in this economy. You should not expect them to sacrifice their livelihood and that of their employees ONLY to your benefit. The age old adage “you can’t get something for nothing” has never been more true.

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